Double whammy for US shows worth of global trade body
- Country that shouts loudest about sanctity of rules refuses to recognise WTO decisions over labelled goods from Hong Kong and aluminium from mainland China
Two adverse rulings against the United States by the World Trade Organization in as many weeks amount to a critical commentary about a country that has shouted the loudest over the sanctity of the “rules-based international order”.
In its latest decision, the international trade body declared the US breached rules by requiring goods from Hong Kong be labelled “Made in China”, when the city is a separate WTO member.
It came right after the organisation ruled that US tariffs imposed on steel and aluminium from China contravened global trading rules.
They mark a symbolic victory for mainland China and the city, but are unlikely to change the behaviour of the US, which has already denounced the judgments and declared it will not recognise them.
To add insult to injury, Washington could send those rulings into a legal void by appealing against them. This is because it has blocked appointments to the WTO Appellate Body, thereby rendering it inoperative.
The US claimed China’s overcapacity had led to unfair steel and aluminium dumping that threatened not only America’s own domestic industrial sectors, but also national security.